Throughout the current presidential election, I have been shocked at the bias of the media. I decided to compare articles from three different news outlets that are on the same topic. This is what I found...
The articles I chose to compare discussed Obama’s stepping in for Hilary Clinton on her campaign trail in Philadelphia. One of the articles came from FOX News, another from CNN, and the final, USA Today.
The CNN and USA Today articles used many direct quotes from Obama’s rally. The FOX News article did not focus on the facts of the situation or the rally itself. Rather, it gave a detailed description of why Obama has recently gained slight popularity, in their opinion. The article stated that Hilary was in desperate need of Obama’s redemption but also gave a detailed history of why Obama has been largely unpopular in the past. However, the CNN article continues to reiterate that Obama’s appearance was not damage control at all. Rather, it was a planned appearance that benefited with timing. CNN specifically stated how Obama used his time to address why Trump was not a fit candidate for the position of commander in chief and gave facts to why Clinton was more qualified.
The CNN article also addressed the other speakers that stepped in for Clinton including Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama and Chelsea Clinton, among others. The FOX News article also mentioned Bill Clinton, but rather than stating the fact of his appearance, they opted for a sexist comment. “We once thought that Bill Clinton would be his wife’s surrogate-in-chief. But as the prospective First Gentleman has shown, he is hardly in possession of his once-prodigious gifts” (Stirewalt, 2016).
Both the CNN and USA Today article mentioned Obama addressing Trumps recent trip to Russia and meeting with leader Vladimir Putin. The FOX News writers choose not to include that information. Both articles also included Obama addressing lack of transparency with the recent release of Clinton’s tax returns and the lack of Trump’s. FOX News also did not include this information. All three articles addressed the “deplorable” comment some more biased than others.
While both the USA Today and CNN article stated that the Obama appearance may aid Clinton’s campaign and boost her polling, FOX News made it clear that they believed Obama’s appearance was needed to keep Clinton from losing all of her lead. The headline proves this matter further, “Can Obama rescue ailing Hillary?” (Stirewalt, 2016). The other headlines were much more matter of fact, one included a quote. USA Today, “With Clinton sidelined, Obama steps up attacks against Trump” (Korte, 2016). CNN, “Obama in Philadelphia, 'I really, really, really want to elect Hillary Clinton’ ” (Liptak, 2016).
USA Today and CNN wrote articles that covered the facts on Obama’s appearance in Philadelphia, while FOX News used the appearance to discuss Clinton’s incompetence and referred to Obama as a Knight in not so shining armor.
